The Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) - Valuable Asset Or Problem For the Future?

Few people remember the days of horrendousdeliver only limited improvement. Armed with this
delays in Europe caused by the explosive growth ofintelligence one shudders at the memory of the time
demand in the latter part of the 70s and early 80s.when airports were not considered to be an integral
States tried to cope with the problem as best theypart of ATM...
could but the individual efforts made things worse asWill the CFMU survive?
often as they helped in resolving the logjam. Clearly,There can be little doubt that if we had to build
a region-wide solution was needed. This solution wassomething like the CFMU to-day, it would probably be
the Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU), designeda different kind of operation. Modern data
and operated by EUROCONTROL on behalf of themanagement techniques and intelligent end user
ECAC States and with the full blessing of ICAO.applications would in all likelihood deliver a more
Now, several decades later, the future of the CFMUstreamlined service with a higher degree of data level
as a concept and as an operating unit may hang inintegration with ANSP, airport and airspace user
the balance.systems.
From protecting sectors to ensuring flight efficiencyThe CFMU systems were designed many years ago
The first attempt at keeping the ATC system fromfor the "flow management" paradigm and they do a
falling apart under the relentless traffic peaks wentgood job of helping airspace users get the most
under the tab "flow control". Indeed, this was notfrom the limited resources available.
much more than a crude quenching of traffic flowsNot that the network management paradigm is alien
which did eliminate sector overloads but left hundredsto the CFMU. Far from it! Several important projects
of aircraft stranded on the ground, delaysand initiatives are focused on moving things along in
skyrocketing.that direction.
The commissioning of the CFMU brought not only aThe SESAR Concept of Operations envisages a
regionally centralised awareness of the overallfirmly net-centric system which requires network
situation but also a change in how sector overloadsmanagement as one of its pillars.
were prevented. The departure slots disbursed byThese days there are only two institutions in the
the CFMU are based on several considerations,world entrusted with managing flows on a regional
including alternative routings and aircraft operatorbasis: the CFMU in Europe and the Command Centre
preferences, justifying the claim that traffic flows arein the USA. They both have found a role in new
now being managed rather than just beingdevelopments when Collaborative Decision Making
constrained as in the days of basic flow control.came along. Their survival will depend on how well
The CFMU may have its faults but over the years itthey can adapt to the latest paradigm change, the
has shown the power of collecting information andmove to network management.
the correct application of that information in ATMBut things are not that simple.
decision making.Bending the paradigm change?
While the protection of sectors from overloadIt is no secret that not everyone in Europe is a
remains as important as ever, ensuring that thisfriend of the CFMU. On the surface, there is no big
protection happens in a way that has the smallestopposition but it is exactly the paradigm change that
possible impact on flight efficiency has gainedmight be used, or rather abused, to pull the teeth of
importance, raising it to a similar priority in dailythe CFMU lion.
operations.Yes, the CFMU must become the network manager,
To-day the CFMU must make sure that controllershowever, unlike the US Command Centre which will
are protected while the aircraft, those ultracontinue to deal with ATS units and airspace users
sophisticated business tools, are subject to only thedirectly, a future CFMU would see a new layer of
least amount of hindrance.flow management coming in under it, the famous
A tall order on any day!Functional Airspace Block function liaising downwards
Network management as opposed to flowand upwards, effectively taking over the old
managementfunctions of the CFMU on a sub-regional level.
The environment in which the CFMU has to operateWhat seems to be forgotten in this development is
is changing also in another way. The step from flowthe original driver for moving from flow management
control to flow management represented a paradigmto network management. Flow management is part
change. ATM is now changing from managing flowsof network management and splitting things apart is
to managing the complete network. Anothernot necessarily a step in the right direction.
paradigm change that is possibly even moreEven the biggest FAB in Europe will have most of its
significant than the first one was.traffic crossing the boundaries into other FABs or
The term network here refers to the totality of theareas that do not have a FAB. FAB level flow
facilities, services, actors, procedures, operationalmanagement looks and feels very much like what we
units, airports and aircraft, as well as the traffic flowshad before the CFMU came along. The end result
themselves that constitute the air trafficmight also very well be the same, regardless of a
management environment.network-manager sitting on top of the pile.
The need to manage the network rather than justCombine the concept of FABs and the concept of
the flows came from the realization that no elementnetwork management the wrong way and within a
in the ATM environment is immune from the influencefew years' time Europe will be scrambling to re-invent
of all the others and tweaking just one part canthe Central Flow (sorry... Network) Management Unit!